Talking Nitro cold brew coffee with Sail Away Coffee’s Chris Vetter

“What’s the first thing you look forward to in the morning? Coffee. Grabbing that first cup of coffee. I get to share the experience with people everyday,” Christopher Vetter said.

I’m sitting with Vetter in Huntington hotspot Vaux Hall on a still mild January day a glass of his company’s nitro cold brew in front of me. The on tap cold brew is rich and creamy, dark as a Guinness, the ideal afternoon jolt.

Vetter launched Sail Away Coffee last May and the company’s products quickly popped up around Long Island. At the Patchogue Farmers Market, at Jones Beach, at Brooklyn’s Artists and Fleas and now at Vaux Hall, which Vetter hopes will be the first of many local establishments to offer the brew.

“The focus this year is really to establish more nitro cold brew on tap and really start a cocktail program,” Vetter said.

Besides the nitro on tap, Sail Away Coffee has a line of roasts and bottled cold brew available throughout Long Island and Vetter is working on larger distribution deals with chains that include Fairway. All with the aim of giving people an amazing cup of coffee, one that like Vetter they look forward to each day.

In his previous life, Vetter was a musician and while on tour he would always try to find a new coffee shop, not just for the jolt but also to learn about the brews they were using.

“It was my fuel day-to-day and I learned to appreciate good coffee,” Vetter said. It wasn’t until touring in Central America though that Vetter really fell in love with coffee production.

“It was such an eye-opener seeing how they brewed coffee. In Columbia they use the cocoa leaves, the leaves are brewed right in, it’s unreal and maybe not legal,” Vetter said reminiscing.

After visiting brewers in Costa Rica, Guatemala and Columbia, discovering unique flavors along the way, Vetter returned to the States in 2014 and wanted to create a cold brew that was smooth and mellow.

“I knew a cold brew could be so much better than what you typically get,” Vetter said.

Sail Away Coffee’s cold brew business is the heart of its operation. Vetter blended different flavors until he found the right smooth, mellow blend letting it steep for hours for a rich extracted flavor. That cup of coffee you dream about.

“Everything has really come full circle. I grew up in the music scene with these guys,” Vetter said looking around Vaux Hall. “All these entrepreneurs coming together.”